The Top 5 Key Benefits Of Making Homemade Dog Treats

When it comes to our dogs, we want to give them the best of everything.

From nutritious food to plenty of exercise, we love spoiling them.

But have you ever considered making your own dog treats?

Not only are homemade dog treats cheaper than store-bought varieties, but they can also be healthier and more personalized according to your dog’s individual taste preferences and dietary needs.

Here are the top five benefits of making homemade dog treats:

Homemade Dog Treats Are Cheaper Than Store-bought Dog Treats

Most humans try to save a little bit extra money by staying at home and cooking meals. Baking homemade dog treats is kind of the same thing. Baking dog treats at home is an inexpensive option to providing your dog with a healthy snack without all the extra ingredients that they don’t need.

It can also save you money when you buy ingredients in bulk or use ingredients that are commonly found in your pantry.

I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at how much money you saved by making your own DIY dog treats.

You Can Customize the Ingredients in Homemade Dog Treats

No two dogs are the same and neither are their nutritional or health needs!

Making home dog treats is an easy way to accommodate your dog’s allergies or dietary restrictions. 

Whether you’re trying to work around a food allergy or intolerance, looking to shed some extra pounds off your dog, or trying to benefit from the nutritional benefits of a specific ingredient, you can customize your homemade treats for your dog!

For example, we make a lot of treats using pumpkin since it helps to improve digestive health.

I also try to make homemade low-calorie dog treats because I own breeds that are prone to obesity.

But the options are endless when you consider that you make:

• Frozen dog treats
• Baked dog treats
• No-bake dogs treats
• Dehydrated dog treats
• Low-fat dog treats
• Peanut butter dog treats
• The list goes on and on!

Homemade Dog Treats are Healthier

No matter how you look at it, most homemade dog treat recipes are healthier than store-bought dog treats because they contain fresher ingredients.

Homemade dog treats don’t contain the same amount of preservatives, fats and chemicals that regular store-bought treats contain.

This is simply because homemade dog treats are made with fresh and natural ingredients because they don’t have to sit on store shelves for months at a time bags on store shelves

Healthier ingredients are better for you dog’s overall health including their digestive system. 

When you feed your dog homemade dog treats, you know exactly what you’re giving to them. You don’t have to worry about where the ingredients were sourced, if it was store properly and where it was made.

Homemade Dog Treats Are Safer

When you look at the ingredient list on the back of a bag of dog treats at the store, it can be shocking to see what’s inside. 

I went to buy peanut butter and blueberry dog treats the other day thinking that there would be maybe 5 ingredients but there was over 20 ingredients listed!

Homemade treats for dogs are made chemical free. You won’t add chemicals and preservatives found. When you feed your dog simple homemade dog treats, you know exactly what you’re giving to them. You don’t have to worry about where the ingredients were sourced, if it was store properly and where it was made.

Did you know that between the years of 2007 and 2015, the FDA received over 5,200 complaints of illnesses linked to pet treats?

That’s too much for my liking. 

When you’re making  homemade dog treat recipes, the most important thing that you need to know is what types of food that are safe for dogs and what type of foods are NOT safe to dogs.

Ingredients not safe to use in dog treat recipes

• Alcoholic beverages 
• Apple seeds 
• Apricot pits 
• Avocados
• Cherry pits
• Chocolate
• Chives
• Coffee 
• Garlic
• Grapes 
• Gum 
• Hops (used in home beer brewing) 
• Macadamia nuts 
• Moldy foods 
• Mushroom plants (some backyard mushrooms are very toxic to dogs)
• Mustard seeds 
• Onions, onion powder and onion flakes 
• Peach pits 
• Potato leaves and stems (green parts) 
• Raisins 
• Rhubarb leaves 
• Salt 
• Tea 
• Tomato leaves and stems
• Walnuts 
• Xylitol (birch sugar)
• Yeast dough

You should also skip the butter and vegetable oil as this just adds more fat and calories to the treats and increases your dog’s risk of getting pancreatitis. 

Dogs Love the Taste of Homemade Dog Treats!

I’ve never a homemade dog treats that my dogs didn’t like and I’ve even shared a few bites with them!

They’re huge fans of any dog treat recipes that contain our homemade peanut butter but they also love the simple no-bake frozen dog treats too!

Let’s be honest, anything homemade tastes better than something processed in a  factory. I know that I would definitely prefer a homemade oatmeal cookie any day of the week. 

So it’s only right that I give my dogs that same pleasure of enjoying homemade treats! 

When giving your dog homemade dog treats just make sure to feed them in moderation and to store them properly in an airtight container.